


Christmas in Bed-Stuy

by kultiras



Category: Hawkeye (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Feelstide 2013, Fluff, Holidays, M/M, tis the season
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-13
Updated: 2013-12-13
Packaged: 2018-01-03 03:36:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1065290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kultiras/pseuds/kultiras
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Clint and Phil's first Christmas together, and with a little help from Kate, it may just be the best and most memorable holiday season yet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Christmas in Bed-Stuy

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Feelstide 2013, and the prompt: Christmas in Bed-Stuy— Clint/Coulson, Lucky, Kate and anyone else from the Hawkeye comics.

**December 1**

Clint rolled over in bed, pulling a pillow over his head in the process. “Phil, I think I’m still in a food coma or something, because I could swear you just said we had to go somewhere. On a Sunday morning. When we haven’t been called in. It’s our day off, Phil.”

“We can’t be called in, Clint,” Phil replied patiently. “You’re out on medical leave until at least a week into the new year, and my team’s on stand-down for the next few days as well.” He paused to pull the pillow off of Clint’s head. “And we do have somewhere to be—we have a Christmas tree to buy.”

“It’s not Christmas yet,” Clint mumbled, “It was just Thanksgiving.”

“It’s December.”

“It’s…holy shit, it’s December,” Clint groaned. “Why did Thanksgiving have to be so late this year?”

“Be happy it was later than usual. If it had been a week earlier, you would have been trying to eat Thanksgiving dinner with your arm still stuck in a brace,” Phil replied. “Now get up, we have a tree to get.” He grinned as Clint groaned again in response.

An hour later, Phil had finally managed to get Clint out the door and into Clint’s car. They grabbed coffee and food on the way to the tree farm, and once there, Phil had to pull Clint from the car as well.

“You do know they sell trees on every street corner back home right?” Clint asked a while later as he followed Phil through the tree farm. “I got one last year, and it worked just fine for us.”

“Clint…do…” Phil paused and turned to look at Clint thoughtfully. “Do you get a Christmas tree every year?”

“Well, I’ve had one the last two years in a row, but before that? Not really. Why?”

“My family has always gone all out for the holidays—decorating, baking, spending time together, just about everything you could think of, including going out and picking a tree together. This is our first real Christmas together, and I just wanted to share a little of that with you,” Phil said.

Clint stared at him in surprise before breaking out into a smile. He leaned in and gave Phil a quick kiss before he pulled back and turned to look at the trees before them.

“So what are we looking for? An 8 foot tree? More?” he asked Phil.

“More like a 6 foot tree,” Phil replied in amusement.

“But we can fit a bigger tree at my place,” Clint said.

“While that’s true, we still need to carry it up to your place. And by that, I mean we have to carry it up the stairs, Clint. So many stairs.”

Clint winced at the thought of lugging a massive tree up the flights of stairs to reach his home. “Yeah, let’s go with your plan. That sounds less painful.”

Phil laughed and nodded in agreement, “It does, doesn’t it? C’mon. The sooner we find the perfect tree for us, the sooner we can get home, set it up, and then go back to your original plan of doing nothing.”

“What if I changed my mind, and want to something else?” Clint asked with a smirk.

“We can do that too.”

 

**December 2**

“Clint, you need to put some on the other side,” Kate said.

“But we can’t even see that side,” Clint pointed out. “It already has lights and that sparkly garland thing, isn’t that enough?” he asked.

“No,” Kate replied.

“Phil?” Clint turned to the other man for backup, “Do we really need ornaments on all sides? Even the side we can’t see from anywhere in the room?”

“It’s set up by the window,” Phil answered. “Let people outside enjoy the view too.”

“But—” Clint started.

“CLINT!” Kate yelled in exasperation. “Ornaments!”

When he continued to stand there looking skeptical, she glared at him and stubbornly pointed to the tree.

“Alright, alright,” Clint muttered, walking over to the back side of the tree. “Phil, you want to help me with this?”

Phil smiled at Clint as he came over to help, passing some ornaments to Kate as the three of them working on decorating the tree. 

 

**December 6**

“You know, your teammates could probably hang up the lights for us so that you don’t risk your life climbing that ladder,” Kate said. She and Phil stood outside watching Clint lean the ladder against the side of the apartment building.

“I was in the circus, Katie-Kate. I can handle heights and ladders.”

“I know that,” she replied, “But I’m not sure this ladder can handle anyone anymore. It looks like it could break if a snowflake landed on it.”

“I’m inclined to agree with Kate,” Phil chimed in. “Not to mention this completely goes against your instructions from Medical. You’re supposed to be resting that shoulder, Clint.”

“I’m fine! It’ll be fine. I’m great at lights,” Clint said cheerfully. “And the ladder will totally hold up.”

Phil and Kate looked back at him skeptically before they turned to one another, sharing a look that seemed to share a secret meaning.

“Fine,” Phil said. “If the ladder’s that good, I’ll put the lights up.”

“What? No!” Clint protested. “You might—”

“Fall? Get hurt? Accidentally electrocute himself?” Kate asked. “And you wonder why we don’t want you to do it,” she said, poking Clint in the arm. “Can one of you please call someone to help out? Because otherwise we’re stuck using my teammates.”

Kate paused and looked back and forth between Clint and Phil, and laughed at the expressions of horror on their faces.

 

**December 12**

“They’re all Hallmark movies,” Clint said dubiously, as he shuffled through the films in the stack of dvds Kate had dropped in his lap.

“Not true! Some of them are cartoons, and there’s a Lifetime movie or two in there as well,” Kate said.

“But they’re all so…”

“Cute? Happy? Festive?” Kate said, interrupting him. “Yes. Yes they are.”

“So…sappy…” Clint finished.

“Many of them are that too,” Kate agreed with a nod. “That’s the beauty of holiday movies. Happy endings all around, even if they aren’t remotely realistic.”

“We could always add _Die Hard_ to the pile,” Phil said from his seat next to Clint on the sofa.

“Nuh-uh,” Kate said. “Holiday movies only—that was the deal.”

“It is a Christmas movie—it’s the timeless tale of a father trying to get home to his family for the holidays,” Phil argued.

As Kate glared at Phil, Clint took another look through the movies he was holding. Maybe if they each picked one, and were occasionally allowed to mock, the holiday movies wouldn’t be too bad…

 

**December 18**

“Phil, how are you at baking?” Kate asked as she walked into the apartment a week before Christmas.

“He’s great at making scones,” Clint said from the kitchen where he and Phil were drinking coffee.

Phil smiled back at him and looked over at Kate. “I can’t really do anything elaborate, but I’m alright at baking. Why do you ask?”

“Well…” Kate began.

“No!” Clint said suddenly, cutting her off. “No, no, no. We tried this last year, Hawkeye. We are not attempting to bake cookies again.”

“I agree,” Kate said. She turned to Phil and tried to smile innocently. “Phil…”

“Why exactly do you want me to bake? And what did you have in mind?” Phil asked warily.

“Cookies! All the cookies! But maybe mostly gingerbread, so that we can build a gingerbread house? My sister and I used to make them when we were little, and it was always fun. We attempted to bake cookies last year, but it didn’t end well,” Kate said. “Even Lucky couldn’t eat them.”

“Barney accidentally killed the oven,” Clint added helpfully.

“Don’t blame your brother, you’re the one who put the cookies in the oven in the first place!” Kate said, poking Clint in the arm.

“He said he would keep an eye on them!” Clint protested.

Phil stared at them in mild disbelief. “You killed the oven with gingerbread cookies?”

“We did,” Kate answered sadly, “Will you please bake us cookies?”

“I have three conditions,” Phil replied seriously.

“Anything,” Clint said.

“One, you two have to buy whatever ingredients we’ll need,” Phil said. “Two, neither of you can help with anything involving the oven. And finally, I get to help decorate the gingerbread house.”

Clint and Kate grinned at one another and a moment later, Kate was squeezing Phil in a tight hug.

“Thank you, Phil! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she exclaimed.

Clint leaned over and gave him a quick kiss. “Thanks, Phil.”

 

**December 21**

“Did you finish all your Christmas shopping?” Kate asked over breakfast.

“I’m done shopping, but I still have some wrapping to do,” Phil said.

“I…still have some shopping to do,” Clint mumbled.

“… _Clint_ ,” Kate said, “Please, please tell me you’ve at least done some of it, remember what happened last year?”

“I’m almost done, I swear! I just have a couple gifts left to get, and they’re mostly from odd stores that shouldn’t be that bad. No repeats of last year,” Clint said, shuddering at the memory.

“What happened last year?” Phil asked.

“The Bartons decided that doing all of their shopping on December 23rd was a good idea,” Kate answered dryly.

Phil looked over at Clint in disappointment. “Really, Clint? You hadn’t done any shopping by then?”

“In my defense, it was a really weird year,” Clint explained, “And I vowed never to do that again. I’m mostly just shopping for Tony, and a couple others today. I took care of all the tricky ones earlier this month,” he said with a smile at Phil. “What about you?” Clint asked Kate.

“I have one or two gifts left to get, and then a hell of a lot more wrapping,” she replied with a smile.

“Ready to face the under-caffeinated masses?” Clint asked her.

“You know it, Hawkeye.”

 

**December 22**

Phil handed Clint a roll of wrapping paper when Clint sat down to start wrapping the presents he’d bought.

“Here, I got this one for you,” Phil explained. “I thought of you the second I saw it.”

It was a roll of purple wrapping paper, decorated with snowflakes in different sizes and styles.

Clint smiled at Phil as he immediately started unrolling the paper to use it. “Thanks, Phil,” he said. “This is perfect.”

For the next half hour, they sat on opposite sides of the room wrapping their presents. Phil had Christmas music playing quietly in the background, and as they worked their way through the gifts, they often found themselves humming along to the music.

“Hey Phil?” Clint asked after a while.

“Yeah?” Phil answered distractedly.

“How many presents do you have left to wrap?”

“Just a couple more to go, why?”

“…I think I’m going to need some help with some of mine,” Clint said, eyeing his pile of gifts in frustration.

“Too many remaining?”

“I’m pretty sure they’re multiplying whenever I turn away from them.”

“I don’t mind helping you,” Phil said with a smile. “That used to be my job when I was growing up. I always helped wrap presents, from cutting tape to tying ribbons.”

“Why am I not surprised?” Clint smiled back at him.

 

**December 23**

“Where’s Clint?” Kate asked when she came back from taking Lucky for a walk.

“He’s on the phone, sitting outside on the fire escape,” Phil replied. He was sitting on the sofa watching something on tv.

Kate glanced outside and saw Clint sitting outside in a thin shirt and sweatpants. “…How long has he been out there?”

“Not long, maybe five minutes at most,” Phil said. “Why?”

“Bring him a cup of coffee in ten minutes. He’s going to be out there a while.”

“You really think so? He doesn’t seem to be saying much on the phone,” Phil said, looking out the window at Clint.

“That’s exactly why he’s going to be a while,” Kate said. “If there’s one thing I learned about the Barton brothers last Christmas, it’s that they kinda suck at talking to one another. It’s like their individual awkwardness and quirks are magnified when they’re together, or when they’re interacting in general.”

Phil smiled back at her. “So I should bring him coffee and a blanket?”

“Mmhm. And it’s up to you to figure out a way to drag him back inside. I always gave up and went back home whenever they had one of their awkward non-conversations,” Kate said. “And speaking of which, I am heading back to my place. Need me to bring anything for Christmas lunch?”

“No, I think we’re just getting takeout once you arrive,” Phil said. “We may open some of the presents before you get here, if that’s alright with you?”

“Oh yeah, totally. As long as we can still open a couple together, that’s perfect,” she said with a smile.

She leaned over the back of the couch and gave Phil a quick hug. “Merry Christmas Eve Eve, Phil.”

He laughed and said, “Merry Christmas Eve Eve, Kate.”

 

 **December 24**

Christmas Eve was spent largely in bed or curled up on the sofa as the chilly air outside left Clint and Phil happy to stay indoors as much as possible. They took Lucky out when the snow let up for a little while, but beyond that, it was a day for staying inside where it was warm.

When the temperature began to drop as the evening turned to night, Clint turned to Phil and kissed him softly.

Phil smiled at him, “What was that for?”

“For everything,” Clint replied, smiling back at him. “I didn’t think the year could get any better after I found out you were alive, but then we became us, and this Christmas? It’s the best Christmas ever, and that’s because of you.”

“That’s funny,” Phil replied, “I was thinking the same thing—I’m having the best Christmas ever thanks to you.”

The two of them smiled at one another, before leaning in to kiss again. Though it wasn’t quite Christmas Day yet, they had no doubt that what they had said was true. This was already their best Christmas ever.


End file.
